Bolsover District Council reports 'costly rise' in sickness absence among employees
Sick days cost the council over £400,000 last financial year
Bolsover District Council has recently recorded its highest overall average number of days lost per full-time employee due to sickness during the second quarter of a financial year based on comparing figures from the last three years.
The council revealed its latest statistics at a Union and Employee Consultation Committee meeting in December after examining a report of sickness absence among full-time equivalent employees, between July to September of the current financial year, alongside figures from three previous years.
A council spokesperson stated: “The overall average days lost due to sickness in Quarter Two was 3.11 days, this is the highest Quarter Two over the last three years.”
The report from the authority’s Head of Human Resources reveals that Quarter One of the current financial year, running between April 2025 to April 2026, recorded 2.8 average sickness days lost per full-time equivalent employee due to sickness at a cost of £135,582.88.
Quarter Two, or the second quarter of the current financial year, recorded a significant 3.11 average sickness days lost per full-time equivalent employee due to sickness at a cost of £156,829.10.
Quarter One has gone from 2.29 days in 2022-23, to 2.26 days in 2023-24, staying at 2.26 days for 2024-25, and up to an increase of 2.8 days in the current 2025-26 financial year.
Quarter Two has gone from 2.02 days in 2022-23, to 2.39 days in 2023-24, to 2.35 in 2024-25, and up to an increase of 3.11 days during the current 2025-26 financial year.
Average sickness days per full-time employee has cost the council a total of £381,172.31 in 2022-23, £333,509.52 in 2023-24, and £403,333.51 in 2024-25, according to the council report.
East Midlands councils are undertaking a ‘benchmarking exercise’ by examining sickness absence as neighbouring councils have highlighted an increase in sickness as an ongoing trend, according to the district council.
The council’s projected outturn figure for the average number of days lost per employee for the April 2025 to April 2026 financial year is 11.82 days, according to the authority, while its annual target for the Local Performance Indicator to the end of the financial year in March 2026 is 8.5 days.
Bolsover District Council says long term sickness cases have contributed to the escalation of the absence figures accounting for 75per cent of sickness in Quarter Two but it added that seven services experienced zero sickness during this period.
Stress or depression has remained in the top three reasons for absence since Quarter Two of the 2019-20 financial year and during the latest second quarter period there were eight cases of absence due to stress or depression – four of which were work related and four were non-work related.
The council also found a direct correlation between employees undertaking physically demanding work and high levels of sickness reinforced by muscular or skeletal absences regularly being in the top three reasons for sickness absence.
There were also five days of sickness recorded for Covid 19 in the Quarter Two period, according to the council.
The council says there have been 20 long-term cases of sickness absence in Quarter Two and 15 of these are due to physical health ailments and five cases are related to stress or depression.
But nine of these employees have now returned to work, according to the council, while nine remain absent and two have left and no longer work for the council.
A council spokesperson added: “Appropriate support and assistance are being provided to facilitate employees who have returned to work and those planning to do so.”
The council has taken a number of steps to support employees and help them to stay in work including promoting health and wellbeing such as walking at work challenges, free NHS health checks and body MOTs, staff rounders games, and community engagement and inclusion events while promoting mental health and wellbeing.
Council managers also benefit from Human Resources support with monthly sickness absence information.
The council stated that absence for the Senior Managers Group is shown as 50per cent of the total absence for Joint Senior Managers in its figures because this is split between Bolsover District and NE Derbyshire District Councils.
For the equivalent of one Joint Assistant Director post, zero days of sickness were experienced during Quarter Two of the 2025-26 financial year, according to Bolsover District Council’s latest figures.
The council’s Union and Employee Consultation Committee formally noted the report from the authority’s Head of Human Resources and Payroll.
East Midlands Combined County Authority is also working with the Government to help more people stay healthy and keep their jobs as part of the Keep Britain Working Review led by Sir Charlie Mayfield.